Posts Tagged ‘friends’
Lucky for So Many Reasons
Guest Blog by Playhouse Mom – Abby Green: Today we feel lucky. Although he’s a little extra and rare, we sure feel lucky that Owen is ours! From conception, our youngest only had a 0.8% chance of surviving… yet here he is changing our world (and maybe changing yours a little too). We…
Read MoreWorld Down Syndrome Day- A New Mom’s Perspective
Guest post by Playhouse mom- Allie World Down Syndrome Day This day is celebrated on March 21st, or 3/21. This date was selected because Down syndrome is created by a 3rd copy of the 21st chromosome. This time last year, I felt dread and guilt on this day. I watched parents and teachers…
Read MoreForward is a Fun Way to Go
One year ago today we re-opened our Playhouse doors, on a limited basis, since closing in-person programming due to the pandemic. We welcomed four famlies, one at a time, for our first in-person Speech and Language Therapy session after having our doors closed for 11 months! We were thankful as an organization we were able…
Read MoreA Mother’s Perspective- Strong and Courageous
Playhouse mom, Allie, shared the following about her sweet daughter Norah on her social media and we thought everyone would be as inspired as we were by her words: One year ago today we were told we’d likely never meet you. One year ago today we were told all of the reasons why we should…
Read MoreNever Too Young to Live Generation G
Generation G in Action! In December 2021 our Site Director and Advocate Committee co-chair were invited to visit a 4th and 5th grade classroom to share what it means to be Generation G. Our friend Finn and his teacher reached out to us to see if we would be willing and we jumped at the…
Read MoreBest of All: Better Together
When we think of our Special Olymipcs Young Athletes (SOYA) program we think of : Athletes, Inspiration and Creativity We started writing this Blog about the incredible effort each of our participants put into their hour long class each week. We wanted to share about: the risks they each took in going out of their…
Read MoreA Mother’s Perspective- An honest discussion about parenting a differently abled child
One of our Playhouse moms, Jennifer, recently wrote this social media post and we thought it’s an important perspective for everyone to hear about. Guest Blog by Jennifer: Vulnerability alert (and a long post) Being the mom of a differently abled child is exhausting at times. I don’t mean physically exhausting (although there’s…
Read MoreCelebrating Reimare’s Best of All for Down Syndrome Awareness
Reimare is an amazing kid with an amazing family who lives in California but have attended our Playhouse when visiting family and also participanted in our virtual literacy tutoring! Erin, Reimare’s mom, came up with a really creative way to celebrate Down Syndrome Acceptance Month, showcase how determined Reimare is, and support multiple organizations that…
Read MoreInspiration, Community, and Awards at National Conference
2021 GiGi’s National Leadership Conference Each year in November, GiGi’s dedicates 4.5 days of training and development for our national network of playhouses and startups at the Leadership Conference. This year, 60+ GiGi’s Playhouse locations and startups and nearly 300 attendees joined together for networking and learning opportunities related to our mission, including our Madison…
Read MoreGold Medal Worthy Down Syndrome Awareness Fall Fest
On October 2nd, we kicked off Down Syndrome Acceptance/Awareness Month (DSAM) with a Fall Fest where families and community members came to Ahuska Park in Monona for an afternoon of fun and surprises. The event included an activity fair planned by a group of Madison College Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) students, a performance by…
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